Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Lunch Date with a Treadmill

I've been cheating on my home gym with my work gym. You see, I've been having a lunchtime rendezvous with the treadmill. I actually have two gym memberships. LA Fitness is less than a mile from my home. It is ideal for when I am on an early morning workout kick. I love working out in the morning (in theory, but not lately in practice). The problem then is that the gym is just too busy after work. The crowds do not sit well with my introvert tendencies. For the close-to-home gym, it is morning or nothing. Lately, for my home gym, it's been nothing.

That's when I decided to pick up the second gym membership. I have a Planet Fitness gym membership for just $10 a month, that is 35 miles away from my home, but only a mile from my office. (And in case you were wondering, Yes, they have squat racks. Don't believe everything you read on the internet - except this, you can believe this.) This is how I discovered my new love of lunchtime workouts.

How wonderful it is to get to sleep in, not have to fight the crowds after work, but still get in a short workout? There are definitely pros and cons of the lunch date with a treadmill.

Benefits of a Lunchtime Workout

1. The lunchtime workout breaks up the work day. I look forward getting out of the office and going to the gym.
2. If I work out at lunch then I have to eat my lunch afterwards at my desk while working. This forces me to bring my lunch from home, because there simply is not enough time to work out and go pick up lunch. I save money by not eating out.
3. Food I bring from home is usually more healthful than food I would buy from a restaurant.
4. I get to blow off steam from my morning. This helps me reduce and better manage stress. I often go back to the office feeling re-energized.
5. I get to take a mental break from my day. Of the vast TV selections (sarcasm) shown at the gym during my lunch hour, I usually can choose between soap operas, Spanish soap operas, (Lo siento. No hablo Espanol. Gracias.) TMZ, and American Dad. I usually don't think a thing about my problems of the day. I think the mindless TV actually helps me to decompress. (I sometimes listen to music too.)
6. My workouts don't take away any time that I would normally spend with my husband. (Morning workouts don't either, as he is sleeping at that hour.)
7. I have found that lunchtime workouts are the gateway drug to getting back in the habit of early morning workouts. Establishing the habit is the first step.

Look at all those benefits of a lunchtime workout! Great, right? There is one reason not to do it that just reeks of a bad idea.

The obvious and often unspoken disadvantage of the lunchtime workout is that I only have an hour for lunch. It takes me five minutes to drive to the gym, five minutes to change into my workout clothes, 35 minutes to do my workout, about 10 minutes to get redressed for work, and five minutes to drive back. There's my hour. What is missing? Just a little thing called a shower. I know, you are thinking about how gross I am.

I dry off, cover myself in scented lotion and perfume, get dressed, apply deodorant, touch up my makeup and comb my hair. Otherwise known as a whore shower. It works for me, mainly because I really don't care. (Sorry coworkers who have an acute sense of smell.) If I have a presentation or appointment in the afternoon where I need to be on top of my game (i.e. not stinky) I'll skip the workout. I've actually had people tell me that I smell nice and ask me what kind of perfume I was wearing, probably because of the extra heavy coverage of it after a workout.

Do you ever have a lunch date with a treadmill? Is the no-time-for-a-shower thing a deal breaker?

I just love taking long walks mid-day! It's a great way to just clear your head!!! In terms of intense exercise... I have to do it solely in the morning because I get too tired to go ALL OUT HARD CORE come mid-day!

Great list. I like to get in my weights during lunch - and when it's cool enough, sometimes a run around the neighborhood as well. I love the added boost of energy, knowing that the workout is done, and the break from work.